Clam Pearl

Gu Zhao and the others stayed in Yangdu for more than ten days. When they got up early this day, the weather finally turned out to be sunny. When it got warmer, they could smell the stench of corpses.

"Last night, I felt something was wrong. On the roof of the big family opposite, there were four old cats (owls) squatting! Ga! Ga! Laughing all night. Sure enough, so many died." Zai was nagging while serving Gu Zhao to take medicine.

Gu Zhao didn't say a word, only thinking that if Jingli knew that he was trapped here, he didn't know what kind of rush he would be in, and he was afraid that he would lose his composure and do something.I don't know if the letter I wrote the day before yesterday was sent out smoothly. If not, I'm afraid it will be another wave of trouble. The old brother coughed last night and only said that there was phlegm. Now the pharmacy is closed. But what to do?

"That natural disaster won't kill two people? Don't think too much about Seventh Master. In the past, the little grandma always said that there was a thunderstorm, and the Dragon King would take people in. Such a big battle has been more than ten days, so I don't want to take it...God. It's a waste of time, no one can work in vain in this wind, frost, snow and rain, right? There is a reason to go." Xizai still persuaded.

Xinzai lit the incense and fanned it slightly in the four corners of the room. Occasionally, he heard what Xizi had said, so he sneered a few words over there, but Gu Zhao just didn't smile.

It is also because the place where Gu Zhao usually stays is clean. Although he is out now, he is still taken care of very well. Therefore, if there is any bad smell, his nose will immediately heal.

Xinzai put down the incense ball, sat on the side as if he was nagging himself, and said, "I don't know how long I've been at home. If I just died, I'm afraid it didn't smell so bad. Many cats and dogs with legs died too." , as soon as the weather gets warmer, it will start to smell within a few hours, which is still good, if it is left over in our hometown, hey, it will only take a while for that kind of weather to produce..."

Xizai immediately turned his head and glared at him, saying: "Shut up, I can't talk, rub the pig's mouth against the wall to relieve itching..."

Gu Zhao covered his forehead and sighed, "Shut up, too."

The house suddenly fell silent...

The distress in the town is not looking any better.In the past few days, there were always people who died of freezing. This morning, I heard from them that some people died of starvation. One death was eight or nine old and weak people from two families, and they were carried out of the town before dawn in the morning.Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he collected a family of four, and the four of them died hugging each other for several days.It is said that it was originally from a family on the water. A few years ago, my husband went out on a boat and never came back. Now it is all right, the family is reunited!

Gu Zhao was pounding garlic back and forth on the bed, and he couldn't read the book. He used to feel that these things were far away from him, but now that he thinks about it, it's actually not that far away. It's just under the window, on the side of the street, and it's only three or five meters away. , that is, the lives of four members of a family.

The world... This is the world, Ah Run's world, people are dead!

At the beginning of the day, the elder Gaode in the town knocked on the door of the store to raise money, saying that everyone is dead, so at least they can buy a cemetery and buy a thin-skinned coffin, and it is not easy for the neighbors to let them be naked Butt on the road.

Shopkeeper Zhang is also having a hard time. He has lost a lot of money these days, so the money has not been paid out, but he went to the back to find two smooth coats that are probably new, and he said they were made when the old man was alive. , At that time, it also cost a few hundred dollars.He also said, those households are really stubborn, why do they want such face?Knock on his door, can he still throw someone out?If you don't do it, you can always take care of it, right?The villagers said yes together, and they all said that this was the reason, and they didn't dislike the big coat, and praised the shopkeeper Zhang for his kindness.

Gu Huaizi, on the other hand, is the most old-fashioned and warm-hearted. Hearing this, he remembered that his family was poor back then. If the old man hadn't picked him up, he might have starved to death.Therefore, he took the initiative to pay twice, not because he didn't have much money, but the situation was unknown at this moment, and the official family seemed to be dead. Up to now, no one came to see the disaster, and the master didn't make a move, so he gave up at will. Money, also afraid of causing trouble to the master.

Gu Zhao couldn't hold his breath and felt bored, but the local aboriginal bureaucratic group headed by his eldest brother understood the matter somewhat.They have all lived in the previous dynasty and seen a world that is a hundred times worse than this one.Now it is considered good, if you go around the town, you will always find a shelter, and you won't just throw it in the soil without a broken mat and just bury it.People of a certain age have suffered a lot, so a lot of people died without knowing whose fault it was, they just complained to God in a muffled voice.

Ever since the frost disaster, the small officials in the town have not thought of a way. With no foreign aid at all, they braved the cold wind every day to gather the hungry and suffering victims together to find a way. There was food and grass in the warehouse, and everyone Part of it is the grain for the next year. Who dares to empty it all at once. Eating seeds is the crime of beheading and destroying the family.Thousands of people were affected by the disaster, such relief is already commendable.Moreover, with such a large area affected by the disaster, how big is Yangdu, and how many people there are. If a few people died unjustly that year, there is no way for God to accept them.

Gu Zhao was aggrieved and had nowhere to tell, so he could only keep it in his heart, so as not to be called hypocritical.He tossed about for a while, then sat up again, and ordered to search for pens and ink carefully, and wrote a charter for disaster relief. It's not too late now, and he hoped that his previous experience could save a few people.

Now the store is full of people, and the corridors are full of poor feet with their bedding rolled up. People come and go, and there is no place to step down.Yesterday, the eldest of the Qiu Brothers was still arguing on the first floor. He only said that they all ran from the temple to the town, but they still couldn't escape the gang of stinky beggars. I got scolded.This guy is so blank, doesn't he know that this kind of remark is causing public outrage?

Gu Zhao and his group have been staying quietly on the second floor for more than ten days, and none of the principals have gone to the first floor to interfere, that is, they are afraid of alarming the victims and looking for trouble for them.A few days ago, the old man even ordered Xizai and the others to reduce consumption and save some rations for the hungry.

Little did he know that Xizai said he agreed, but when he turned around, he only gave cash to the village elders for disaster relief. Now that he has money for rations and firewood, he has no place to buy them, who knows how long he will stay here.They were just passing by, and it would be a great benevolence and righteousness to be able to exchange money.Until this morning when someone died of starvation, Xizai only said that it was fate, but he didn't feel that he was wrong at all, only rejoicing.There are about forty people in their line, both big and small, and those in the dark who want to eat, drink, and scatter, and he has to worry about hard work, which is a lot to take care of.

Gu Zhao and his group of 32 people used to have three hot meals a day, and besides eating, they also provided various small melons and fruits.Now it's good, the old and the young have two meals a day, one dry and one thin, and they are only sixty percent full. Whenever they think of the master's food, Xizi feels very uncomfortable, and secretly cried a few times, only saying that he is incompetent.When did the master suffer this crime?I started following my master, but I have never seen my master eat half a bowl a day and ask, does anyone else have this?

I don't know how long it will last when I can't go up to the sky, and I can't get down to the ground. For a while, whether it's the individual guests on the first floor or the nobles on the second floor, they are all listless, and if they feel unsatisfactory, there will be a quarrel.

There are more and more customers in the store, and there is no place to stay. In addition to letting people live in the backyard for free, the owner Zhang also gave up the lobby of his house.His family opened a foot shop, and the lobby could have put more than 20 tables, so they put the tables together to make a bed, with two large mats hanging in the middle, which are divided into men and women, and there is a taboo.For a while, there were all kinds of smells in the house, and I had no choice but to ask someone to hang two cotton curtains at the entrance of the building and make incense all day long, so as to separate the smells, who would have thought, this There is a window next to it, and once the ice and snow melt, the rancid stench will no longer be able to stop it.

On the street, there was the dull and depressing creaking sound of cart wheels rolling on the ground, Gu Zhao asked Xizai to open the window, and Xizai cautiously persuaded her master, fearing that the dead air would hit her master.Later, intermittent crying came up to the second floor, and then suddenly there was a very pleasant sound of chanting sutras.With that sound, slowly and slowly, some sorrow and suffering were slowly buried away.

"Go and see who it is?"

Gu Zhao couldn't get off the kang, so he ordered Xizai to see who it was. Didn't he hear that there was a monk taking refuge in the town?Xizai nodded, put down the curtain on the bed, then walked to the window, opened the window slightly and looked out of the building.

After a while, Xizai replied in a low voice: "Master! It's the young master on the first floor who is holding the dead man's hand to save him. I really... didn't see it, but he was kind."

Gu Zhao nodded slightly. The messy suspicions of the past few days suddenly healed now. He really wanted to become a monk without thinking about it.You can tell if people are sincere or not by listening to the voice of salvation. This voice is warm and moist, full of compassion.

Later, as if someone quarreled downstairs, they said don't read it, her family believes in the Boundless Emperor, and if she doesn't believe in this, there is no need for a monk to intervene.For a moment, Gu Zhao was a little dumbfounded.That boundless land has become more and more popular these years. Others don't know, but Gu Zhao knows that this great emperor is a false god forged by him and Gu Maobing. He is the so-called ancestor of Zhao Chunrun's family. .Originally, the family was not called Boundless, but later the common people insisted on conferring gods on them, and fabricated various classes around him, and even the dozen or so concubines around the great emperor had their own stories, as Gu Zhao sometimes told. They all muttered, could it be that there is such a person?

But he didn't want to, his grandfather, Suan Nier, could drink Changbanpo off, and it would be no problem for Ah Run's grandfather's grandfather to marry ten or eight householders.

Later, the dead man came out of the town, closed the windows carefully, and sat aside, not knowing what he was thinking.

In the corridor, there was the sound of the soles of shoes dragging the ground. Gu Zhao strained his ears, and picked up Jiang Jingtang's notes that had been put aside to read.

This child Yun Yao is always lonely these days. He has been hidden in the countryside for a long time and has never seen the world. Although the family treats him like a little prince these days, in his heart he is someone who has never seen the world. Rural children.As soon as a person comes out, he becomes wild and can no longer be locked up.

Grandpa doesn't allow him to go out to play these few days, children, he is bored, so he wanders around the inn.At first he wandered around on the second floor, and every morning he read a book with Mr. Ding Jiu, wrote a few words, and learned to burn bamboo scrolls.After finishing homework, I would drop by the door one by one, and quietly open the window to look out when there is no door to enter.

He can't go to the servant's room. He definitely doesn't want to stay with Mr. Ding Jiu. Grandpa's place is really nagging, and Grandpa Seven's aura is too strong. Lai is on Grandpa Seven's side. If Grandpa Seventh is not there, Uncle Fourteen will be writing books in the house.He glanced at it quietly. Fourteenth Uncle has been writing a volume of strange things these days, stories about some gods in the sky, and some kind of woman. With a good face, he always stuffed him with some food at will, and sent him away like a child.For a while, Gu Yunyao was ashamed and angry, so she could only stroll around the entrance on the first and second floors.

After the dead man passed by, Shopkeeper Zhang ran to the second floor, opened the windows on the left and right sides, and said that he needed to take a breather because it was getting warmer today. Sure enough, the wind that came in was not as harsh as it was a few days ago, but it was still very cold.Gu Yunyao sauntered along the door leaf on one side and tiptoed to the first floor. He stood at the entrance of the building yesterday and listened to those actors talking about wild fun and secret stories. He had never heard of them before, but he didn't know , the outside world is so interesting.But he didn't want to walk to the entrance of the building, but Gu Yunyao was stopped by someone.

"Young master, don't dare to go down, the people down there are wild, and you will be abducted carefully!"

Gu Yunyao was stunned, and turned her head to look, but it was the little girl brought by Grandpa Xu Xinna's little lady, named Fenduo.

There was light in the corridor, and Fen Duo wore a simple girl's hair accessory on her head. Her hair was black and shiny, her face was round, her lips were slightly thick, her complexion was healthy, and her big eyes were shining, revealing a sense of simplicity and kindness.A country girl, she hasn't learned the rules before entering the house, so when she speaks, she is not high or low. A few days ago, she was still thinking of her mother in the room every day, crying every day, Yun Yao saw that she was pitiful, and gave her A few rabbits made of mud and six-color materials were used to color her to relieve her boredom, but she has become heartless these days.

His face turned slightly red, but Gu Yunyao didn't speak, but took a step back.

Fen Duo and Yun Yao are about the same age, so they are a little cautious, and it has nothing to do with the affair between men and women, but she thinks that we are so old, we should be together, naturally, Yun Yao thinks the same way, he is also from the countryside Growing up, most of the girls over there are like this... so vulgar, they have no bad intentions, they are just less polite and straightforward.

It's inappropriate for her to do this. She shouldn't look at herself like this.Straight into a pair of big eyeballs, looking at...

"Down there, there are kidnappers, who specialize in stealing children. They have a stick of incense stick in their hands, which is as big as a patch. They only put it on the palm of their hand. When you get close, they just slap your head! You will be lost... ..." Fen Duo continued to scare people.

Yun Yao hugged her fur sleeves in embarrassment: "En!" After saying that, she didn't look at her either.

See no evil!

Seeing that he was obedient, Fen Duo nodded with a smile. Finally, she also looked down enviously, and said in a low voice: "The store's mother-in-law said that the big family opposite has sent the theater troupe away. Why don't they all stay downstairs?"

Gu Yunyao nodded, her eyes were bright.For children, theatrical troupes always have a fresh look from the outside world. Although adults look down on these people, children don't see them that way.

Fen Duo sighed, turned around and entered the room, and after a while she ran out with a lot of baked beans on the hem of her skirt.When she came over, Fen Duo was as generous as her own, and after looking around, she put on her green coat and sent it to Yun Yao:

"When I came out, my mother brought it, and I simmered it by the stove, and it was delicious with tea soup! Don't be disgusted, young master, grandma just asked me to eat at home, saying that the men are hungry these days." Fan Duo was quite shy when she said this, this is her first chapter as a gift for a boy doll.In the past, the male dolls in the village were not as clean and beautiful as the young master.She didn't like it, but she felt that if the young master ate her food, he would be counted as one of her own in the future.

It's not right for Gu Yun to pick it up, and it's not the same if he doesn't pick it up. After a long time, he saw that there was no one in the corridor, and then said in a low voice: "You can't call me, after you go home like this, the mother-in-law will beat you! "

Fen Duo was startled, and asked in a slightly higher voice, "Why?" Her big eyes were still bright.

Gu Yunyao looked at this little girl, why?He didn't know why, although he grew up in the countryside, his family members didn't dare to call him me, but no one explained to him why they were not allowed to call me.

"Fen Duo! Come back!" A door on the side of the corridor suddenly opened, Zhang Xiaoyan supported the door frame, and stood there with the sullen feeling he had with the master last night, calling him his little girl.

Fen Duo turned pale, looked at Gu Yunyao, and went back with the bagful of beans.Just when he was about to reach the door, Zhang Xiaoyan thumped her on the back as soon as he stretched out his hand and beat her into the room.

Gu Yunyao opened her mouth in a murmur, there was no way to persuade her, this was a matter of Grandpa Xu's family.

Zhang Xiaoyan gave Gu Yun Yao a blessing, and Gu Yun returned the gift.Then, the door was slammed shut again, and the sound of a handful of beans rolling on the ground could not be concealed.

Fen Duo cried softly: "Grandma, don't be angry...don't dare again."

Zhang Xiaoyan vaguely heard aggrieved curses: "You don't even think you are a lowly maid who came out of the placenta. I haven't taken you for a few days, and I have learned how to hook up with you..."

Gu Yunyao listened to Fenduo's cry, and suddenly felt that something was broken. He was a little sad, and wanted to ask Uncle Xi to take a look. Useless by yourself.

Fen Duo's cries still spread into each room along with the wind from the windows. In the past few days, Zhang Xiaoyan has shattered a love dream. She is always in a bad mood. If she fell in love with her, if she was not well, she could only calm down with the little girl.

Hearing the crying, Gu Zhao threw the book in his hand aside a little irritably, looked up at Xinzi who was sitting on the side, and said, "Go and call Xu Pinlian."

Xizai agreed, put down the iron clip in his hand, and called Xu Pinlian, who was playing chess with his subordinates, into the room in a short while.Perhaps the other side knew that something was wrong, and the voice immediately dissipated.

In the past few days of hunger and cold, Xu Pinlian was writing notebooks and secretly observing magistrates. Although it had nothing to do with him, he was still in a hurry, which made him lose several catties.A few days ago, he fell asleep while warming the fire, and he didn't pay attention to the smooth beard that he usually groomed. He insisted on pulling half of it off, but now he had to pluck it all off, revealing a face that was pale and pale. Xu Pinlian only felt that he was not dignified. It's not decent, so when you see people, you just lower your head and cover them.

"I don't know why the county lord summoned the officials?" Xu Pinlian entered the room and saluted Gu Zhao according to the rules.Although he has friendship with the old man, but the county master has no friendship here.Lord Xiaojun is quite a strange person, he is like a frame with everyone, no one else can get in touch with him, so he is more dignified than his elder brother, Lord Guo, and the people below are quite afraid of him.

Gu Zhao pointed to the seat on one side, Xu Pinlian sat down carefully, Xinzai helped him pour the tea, and told the boy on the other side to go down quietly, and closed the door behind him,

Gu Zhao saw that they had gone out, so he said to Xu Pinlian: "Master Xu, if the person in your room is really unwilling, you can give her some money."

Xu Pinlian's face was suddenly embarrassed, this was his family business, the young lady was young and naive, he couldn't put it down, and besides, he had already accepted it, how... how could he let it go?What if the little lady has it in her stomach?I don't know what the little princess thinks, isn't this embarrassing him?

"This... this... but I don't know..." Xu Pinlian didn't know what to do, and he was so ashamed that he didn't know what to say.

The two of them were embarrassed, but they didn't expect that there would be a sudden quarrel downstairs, a high-pitched and thin voice scolded there with such sharpness that the wooden boards on the first and second floors could not be separated: "We are leaving too. People from countless villages and towns, who have seen the world! I have seen a lot of decent masters, but I have never seen anything like this!

The master of the fifth rank in the city invited us to go, that is also a post!He is from a scholarly family, and he does things with reason and evidence, but he doesn't know what kind of family your family is, so why are you so unreasonable?I'm not afraid that we will go out from town to house to increase your reputation!Carefully conceived of your family's reputation for three generations, don't blame us for being immoral, we are all honest people, so naturally we have one thing to say and another to say another thing.I have endured you for a few days, come and go, you are wicked!

They all spend money to stay in the hotel. With your family's money, is it bigger than a millstone?How much more than our money?Why do we guys who eat get in the way of you, your uncle's hoofs are precious, and you don't go on the road, it's not good to kick there, but kicking someone's job is not afraid of ruining your life, and you will suffer retribution in the next life..."

This scolding is not someone else, it is the pillar of the troupe who is singing opposite, called a pretty slave.

A few days ago, the lower house of that big family's family could have lived in people, but who knew that in this cold snap, his family had taken in many clansmen from the town, so they couldn't even live in the lower house.Shopkeeper Zhang's family originally had some relatives with the big family opposite, so he left an empty space in the lobby for the convenience of others.

That pretty slave has a bit of beauty, and is used to being praised all day long, so it's normal to have a bit of a temper.Who would have thought that in this wild town, he was first kicked out by the big family, and finally he didn't even have a room to live in. Now he lives in the lobby with a group of traffickers and pawns, and the rough corners of the theater troupe, which adds to his anger.

He didn't like it here, so he didn't like anyone, and today the town sent the dead out of the town, and the servants below ran back and forth to watch the excitement, and those who came out and went in bumped a few times.

How dare he be angry?Xizai and the others are so talented, what kind of person is his master, and now he is living with such a person!Seeing that Qiao Nuer was scolding meanly, she naturally replied back, and it's normal for her to say no virtue.

It's a pity that those brought out at home have read a few books at least, and even the most mean ones can't be as sharp as other people's pretty slaves when they scold them. Therefore, they alone killed a lot of Gu Zhao's side.Later, the words became more and more ugly, and the young master of the Qiu family who lived on the first floor had the upper hand. Seeing that the pretty slave was scolding, he sent the young man to make tea, and sat on the side drinking tea , yelling and cheering.

When Gu Huaizi got angry, he picked up Qiao Nuer and threw it outside.Unexpectedly, the gong of Jingjie suddenly came from the street, and shopkeeper Zhang shouted as if he had been pardoned: "The chief is here to inspect, ancestors, please stop!"

It was too late for him to say this, the people in the room only heard a scream, and then the gongs and drums fell to the ground, and some killer said:

"It's not good, there are assassins!!!!!!!!!!!!"